Residents of Okroase in the Ahafo Ano Southwest District of the Ashanti Region say they are living in fear of possible flooding after illegal mining activities diverted the flow of the Mankran Stream.
The diversion has caused milky sludge from the artisanal mining operations to spill into nearby farmlands, destroying several acres of rice farms and a commercial coconut and oil palm nursery. The damage is estimated to run into millions of cedis.
Emmanuel Amponsah was visibly distressed by the destruction of his oil palm and coconut seedling plantations, which he says represented an investment of more than GH¢200,000.
He had spent months nurturing the seedlings to produce healthy planting materials for farmers and land reclamation projects.
Footage captured days later shows the Mankran Stream, heavily laden with silt, overflowing its banks and flooding the nursery.
Although the water has since receded, the extent of the damage remains evident.
The once-thriving nursery is now covered in mud and debris, with several coconut and oil palm seedlings completely destroyed.
“I regret coming here. I was at Mankranso, and they destroyed over 2,000 seedlings there. I came here only for this to happen again. It’s like a perennial problem,” he worriedly said.
Just across from Amponsah’s nursery, another farmer is also counting his losses.
Nana Yaw and his wife planted their rice farm earlier this year, hoping for a good harvest to support their household.
But their expectations have been dashed, with their one-acre rice farm now submerged in milky sludge from the Mankran Stream.
“This is very sad. No farmer would be happy seeing their farm in this bad state. I have made losses,” Nana Yaw said.
His wife continued that: “It’s not as if the rice couldn’t grow bountifully. It did, but the water has destroyed everything. The illegal miners care less about us”.
The cause of the devastation on the two farms sits only a few kilometers away – illegal mining.
For months, miners have been excavating land close to farmlands and residential areas, leaving behind large heaps of earth and excavated material.
Farmers say the earthworks have altered the natural course of the stream, diverting water into adjoining farms.
Effluent and heavy sediment from the mining sites have also accumulated in the waterway, blocking culverts beneath a nearby bridge.
Residents say they have made several attempts to stop the mining activities, but the operations have continued, with nearby communities bearing the impact of the resulting environmental damage.
“I went there to sack them, but I was told they came back. Should our children and parents die before they stop?” a resident asked.
The Mankran stream is traditionally one of Ghana’s oldest rivers, historically believed to be protected by a powerful river deity named Nana Mankran.
For generations, the water body remained clear and pure, serving as the primary source for drinking, domestic chores, farming, and local fishing.
But the same can’t be said now. It is now a pale shadow of the once crystal-clear water body.
“We used to drink and swim in the stream. But we can’t do that now due to illegal mining,” Kontihene for the community said.
Driving from Okroase through adjoining communities such as Kunsu and Mankranso, the extent of the land degradation is difficult to miss.
Large sections of land along the Mankranso-Tepa Road have been excavated, leaving behind exposed earth and abandoned mining pits.
Satellite images of the area also reveal extensive muddy patches across land that was previously covered by green vegetation and used for agriculture.
The communities have pushed for local government authorities to halt the operations and de-silt the waterway, but that seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
“They promised to de-silt during the harmattan. We’ve informed the assemblyman several times,” the unit committee chairperson for the area said.
But with the rainy season underway and the stream already struggling to contain its flow, residents say the threat of flooding remains.
They fear a heavy downpour could cause the stream to overflow, sending floodwaters into nearby homes and farms and worsening the damage already recorded.
“Whenever it floods, the water enters our home. We don’t want any disaster here,” the Kontihene indicated.
Back on Amponsah’s farm, the seedlings are cultivated to support the reclamation of degraded lands and the production of cash crops.
Amponsah typically grows about 58 plant species, including citrus fruits and various tree crops. But repeated destruction of his nursery has forced him to scale back to just six species for the new planting season.
Farmers and residents are now calling for urgent intervention to restore the natural flow of the Mankran Stream, protect their farms and avert a possible flooding disaster.
Until that is done, residents of Okroase say they remain anxious whenever the rains begin.